TIps and tricks when you are learning Spanish

05 October, 2017

Advice for all the levels!
Learning a new language is hard, I wonât deny it, sometimes even boring (Iâm thinking about those never ending grammar lessons...), but it isnât all that. Here you have a few pieces of advice that will help you with your Spanish in a nice light way; it doesnât matter if youâve just started! Letâs have a look:

1. Listen to music in Spanish.
You can listen to any music style in Spanish, thereâs thousands of options. Here you have some of my personal recommendations, depending on which music style you enjoy the most! Explore, have a listen, try to find a song or a band that you really like and sing along. It doesnât matter if you donât really understand the whole thing, but youâll practice pronunciation and sure youâll learn a bit of new vocabulary.

Crime
The Invisible Guest
After waking next to his new-dead lover in a hotel room, a young businessman hires a prominent lawyer to figure out how he ended up a murder suspect.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epCg2RbyF80 />Youtube

Horror
Resurrection
In the 19th century, a young Argentine priest returns home during a yellow fever epidemic and discovers a frightening connection to the supernatural.

Crime
The Invisible Guest
After waking next to his new-dead lover in a hotel room, a young businessman hires a prominent lawyer to figure out how he ended up a murder suspect.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epCg2RbyF80 />Youtube

Horror
Resurrection
In the 19th century, a young Argentine priest returns home during a yellow fever epidemic and discovers a frightening connection to the supernatural.

2. Watch movies, TV series and documentaries in Spanish or about a Spanish speaking country.
Here you have a few recommendations that you can find on Netflix. You can turn on the subtitles in Spanish (so you can read what theyâre saying) or in your own language, this is useful if youâve just started studying Spanish and want to get used to the speed and the pronunciation of the language, youâll learn a few words as well for sure! (Synopsis given by Wikipedia)
Movies
Movies
Comedy
My Big Night (2015)
An unemployed man gets a job as an extra at the shooting of a New Yearâs Eve TV special thatâs beset by crises and seems to go on forever.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvVkFh0Nqxk/>Youtube

Crime
The Invisible Guest
After waking next to his new-dead lover in a hotel room, a young businessman hires a prominent lawyer to figure out how he ended up a murder suspect.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epCg2RbyF80 />Youtube

Horror
Resurrection
In the 19th century, a young Argentine priest returns home during a yellow fever epidemic and discovers a frightening connection to the supernatural.

Documentaries
When Two Worlds Collide
This documentary takes a hard look at how indigenous peoples clashed violently with the Peruvian government over land and economics in the Amazon.
El fin de ETA
This documentary chronicles the decade-long process that led to the end of the ETA, a Basque terrorist group that operated for more than 50 years.

4. APPs
There are a bunch of APPs to learn and practise Spanish from your mobile phone or laptop; here you have the pros and cons of the ones Iâve tried. (All of them are available in the AppStore)
Duolingo
In this app you can choose your daily goal, from casual (which is 5 munutes a day) to insane (20 minutes a day), and every day you achieve your daily goal youâll get points which you can exchange for rewards.
When you first get it, there are two options: start studying the language from the beginning or taking a 5 minutes test to check your level.
Pros:
- Very easy to use and intuitive.
- Useful to practise vocabulary, concordance and structures.
- You can add your achievements in this App in Linkedin.
Cons:
- Some of the sentences donât sound natural for a native speaker.
Wlingua
You can learn Spanish from English, Russian, Italian, Portuguese or French with this APP, and it gives you the option of learning Spanish from Spain (Castillian) or Spanish from Mexico (Latin America).
Like with Duolingo, there is an option of taking an assessment or select a level if you donât need to start from the beginning.
It offers a vocabulary list plus its pronunciation before every lesson.
Pros:
- The lessons are better explained than in Duolingo.
Contras:
- Itâs not very intuitive or easy to use.
- Only up to level B1.
Spanish for Beginners
This app consists of a screen with a list of different lessons. For example, in lesson 1 youâll learn the alphabet and its pronunciation. Furthermore, if offers a tests for every lesson.
Saving your progress is not allowed in this app, but I think it could be useful so the beginners can learn and practise basic vocabulary.
Pros:
- Itâs offline.
- Intuitive and easy.
Cons:
- Only up to basic and intermediate level.
- It doesnât have explanations or activities to practise structures.

5. Speak!
Last but not least, if you have a friend, a neighbour, a customer or know someone who is a native speaker or can speak a bit of Spanish, talk to them! Donât be afraid! Tell them what youâve just learnt or ask them about where they come from; itâs the quickest way to learn.
And remember that learning a language is not an easy road; itâs an everyday process even for the native speakers, who commit mistakes everyday as well. So my final advise is donât feel frustrated and keep trying every da